Dropbox will now be pre-installed on Xperia Z3 devices; wants to be more than bloatware

posted by Paul.K / Oct 07, 2014, 7:42 AM

Sony has become Dropbox's latest partner and will pre-load its handsets (from Xperia Z3 onwards) with the Dropbox app. This is another step in the cloud company's ongoing campaign to integrate its services with more and more mobile devices; the previous two mobile vendors, to become Dropbox partners, were Samsung and HTC.

Yes, the app will now be pre-installed on your shiny new Z3 (or, if you already own one – you should probably expect an update), but don't think of it as bloatware; for Christine Moon, head of Dropbox's Mobile Partnerships team, does not want the app to feel this way at all. She says the developer team is working closely with the smartphone manufacturers in order to bring smart integration of Dropbox's services into the phones' UIs. For example – Samsung smartphone users can upload pictures to Dropbox directly from the phone's photo gallery.

Of course, uploading pictures is not the end-all be-all of the cloud service's plans to grow. As an example of her vision for the service, Moon said:

"The added value is having Dropbox integrated in a smart way. This device (a Samsung Galaxy Note 3) comes with an application that tracks my steps. What if over time because I’m prone to diabetes I want to track it over many years? What if it had a cloud component? Those are the things that we think about, what is the added value we can bring? You can see more of those integrations going forward, coming with many different partners."

So, basically, Dropbox has the potential to become a sort of a life log – following you across phone upgrades through the years and still keeping all of your information intact. Yes, it sounds just a little creepy, but when one shakes off the paranoia for a second – one can see the benefits and coolness factor... and then the paranoia sets in again.

posted on Oct 07, 2014, 7:50 AM 12

Posts: 2120; Member since: Apr 30, 2012

posted on Oct 07, 2014, 7:54 AM 2

Posts: 121; Member since: Sep 01, 2014

I agree with you. I like and use Dropbox, so I would be okay with Dropbox being pre-installed on my mobile phone... As long as I would be able to uninstall it whenever I want. If I cannot, it's bloatware-ish (though I would probably use it, so it's not exactly bloatware).

posted on Oct 07, 2014, 8:07 AM 2

Posts: 257; Member since: Mar 07, 2014

posted on Oct 07, 2014, 8:46 AM 6

Posts: 79; Member since: Oct 03, 2014

Dropbox wants to change how people see bloatware by making their own services into bloatware. AWESOME. To be honest, I was going to use google drive for the sake of making bloatware useful but now I have two different apps for the same thing! More safe nudes!

posted on Oct 07, 2014, 8:05 AM 6

Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012

I also like and use Dropbox, and I will not consider it bloatware.
That said the definition of bloatware is clear: things that come installed and you don't need/use and you can't uninstall. So for many users it is bloatware.
I just hope they give the people the chance to uninstall.

posted on Oct 07, 2014, 8:06 AM 2

Posts: 2943; Member since: Jul 02, 2014

posted on Oct 07, 2014, 8:32 AM 0

Posts: 213; Member since: May 27, 2014

Dropbox is helpful they treated me good I have 76GB for installing it on multiply devices I download Dropbox any ways on my androids and iPhones so I see no problem with that and since iso8 don't back up photos I use Dropbox for auto uploads

posted on Oct 07, 2014, 10:21 AM 0

i use drive, even though i have 75 gb of storage :b anyways, its okay to have bloatware, but make it removable, i guess its ok to make the google apps system apps, but make all other bloatware removable, and i wouldnt mind buyng a carrier phone, meanwhile ill continue buying carrier-free phones

posted on Oct 07, 2014, 12:34 PM 0

Posts: 3363; Member since: Jul 22, 2014

I buy Sony phones because they give you the option to uninstall bloatwares. SD cards are still more practical than online storage systems. I will say goodbye to Sony products if dropbox will be included in my phone updates without total uninstallation options.

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